By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Yet to be cleared to launch his sixth NBA campaign, Bogdan Bogdanovic is confidently going through the final stage of recovery.
Bogdanovic, 30, underwent right knee surgery in May, following the conclusion of his 2021-22 NBA run with the Atlanta Hawks. Consequently, he did not play for the Serbia senior national team in the 2022 EuroBasket and 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers this summer. And has already missed six games of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season.
“I’m back to the court activities, and I feel good, just a little out of basketball shape,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I need a rhythm back, change of direction, explosive moves. But now I’m focusing on that.”
“It feels better. It’s mentally challenging,” he commented on recovering from surgery in a recent discussion with Hawks play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun, “It’s a grind, week by week. You can’t see results every day. And there are some bad days. There are some very bad days. There are very good days. So, it’s been challenging.”
Despite initially projecting him to be fully healthy at the start of the season, the Hawks did not rush him back, general manager Landry Fields detailed during the 2022 Preseason.
Following the 2022-23 season, Bogdanovic can become an unrestricted free agent, if he does not pick up a player option worth $18M.
Prior to moving his talents to Atlanta in 2020, he spent three seasons at the Sacramento Kings. Multiple achievements in Europe were highlighted by the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship with Fenerbahce in 2017.
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